Fade to Black: Bonds
by RosarioVampireBoy
Summary: It's been over a year since Nightmare's attack and things seem to be looking up between humans and monsters. Life goes on with little tweaks, with Alucard and his friends the city seems more safe than ever. A new enemy is approaching though from a civilization that time forgot. With his friend taken Al and friends must find their way into the forgotten kingdom before time runs out.
1. Chapter 1 MPF

Fade to Black: Bonds

Chapter 1

M.P.F

Let's fly, forgetting loss as all the people cried in pain. They tried to live their lives, in the sky where they could fly. Tell me where he is, tell them to go away, but there's so much here so let the times whirl. There's a voice that says your heart and your soul and the sun comes down with all their calls. So where is your feeling and where is your light? Forgotten gods no ones ever seen.

Over a year ago the city of Magnolia experienced something that no other city had experienced before, destruction at the hands of a monster. Their city was almost destroyed, but then more monsters showed up but they were different. They sought not to harm the humans but instead to protect them from the darkness that began to engulf the world. It wasn't easy though for they faced a foe more powerful than any enemy they faced before, but through teamwork from both humans and monsters they were able to stop his rein of destruction. Many died and for that a great memorial was erected in memory of the fallen, but through the destruction and chaos both human and monsters began to find common ground. The process was long and very tedious, not to mention exhausting to a lot of humans but with the help of Frank and his platoon as well as Rorik and Mellina their city was rebuilt, stronger and better than it was before. The city of Magnolia was not only their home but also a symbol that stood for what could happen if the world were to except the mystical and with it would come a new world.

December 5th, it was cold, it was kind of wet, but at least the sun wasn't out and for Alucard that was a good thing. For hours he had been waiting for this one guy to show up in an alleyway ear the local bookstore, according to Fletcher some were telling him that they had been hearing deals going down inside the darkness. Well if that was the case it was time to bust some heads.

"Achoo! God this damn snow. Couldn't you just lift it for just a little bit? No? Ok." he asked the almighty.

Of course he couldn't answer, he was talking to himself. Even though he was a vampire the cold still bothered him a bit. With his cloak wrapped around him tightly he laid on top the overhang of a nearby street bench as his eyes continued to scan for their perp.

"Al, Al are you there?" he heard his partner ask through his earpiece.

"Yeah I'm here, frozen as ever."

"Right sorry for dragging you into this but out of all of us you're the fastest." she replied in an apologetic tone.

"Nah it's alright, this isn't anything to worry about." he reassured her.

"That's good, have you caught any sight of the target?" she asked.

With the drawn profile in hand his eyes moved from side to side as he tried to match up the picture with anyone nearby.

"Nope, but I'll keep in touch." he replied as he turned off his earpiece.

Huh he wondered though, using his energy he called forth a little black flame in the palm in his hand just to see if it would warm him up a bit.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff." he sighed as his body began to warm up a bit.

Just when it was getting good though a man began approaching the alleyway dressed in a stock hat and leather jacket that looked like the perfect place for drugs to be stored, at least that's what he thought.

"I found him, I'm going in for the capture." he said as he jumped down from his spot.

"Alright but be careful, this guy could be a slippery snake." she replied.

"Yeah like they all aren't."

Well it was showtime as he leaned against edge of the entrance. With his ears wide open he listened closely to their little conversation while also preparing for a little chase.

"We've got everything you need here. Whatever you want we can get, the goonja, kika, fire reds, I'll supply you with whatever you need."

Yep he was definitely guilty, all those were drugs known only to those in the Underground but it looked like they decided to bring it up top for a little fun. Time for the catch. Taking a deep breath he stepped into the darkness as he used his enhanced vision to see through the darkness.

"Don't move freeze!" he shouted as he confronted the perp

"Yo what's up man? Up for a little fun?"

"Open your jacket right now or I swear I will blow you sky high." he threatened.

"And who do you think you are intruding on my business?"

"Oh just one of the ones who saved the city. Now as I said open your damn jacket." he demanded once more as a bolt began to form in his hand.

"Alright man keep your lid on." .

As soon as he opened his brown jacket up he knew he had them. Arranged all around inside were different little packets of all kind of drugs. From some made by humans to the ones made my monsters, they were all there.

"You were trying to see goonja to a human you piece of crap?"

"Hey he wanted some stuff so I got it."

"You do know what that stuff can do to a human right? Swelling of the brain, heart attacks, that stuff is only meant for monsters and..."

He was gone, but he didn't get far before he spotted him running against the wall as nothing more than just a shadow. Great he had a shadow running on his hands.

"Eh what about me?" his customer asked.

"You can go, but lay off the stuff man. You look even deader than my friend." he said as he began the pursuit.

His eyes were locked on his fellow monster as he moved between people. When he looked up at the street they were turning on, Hooper, a plan began form inside his head.

"Hey Julie, he's headed towards your position. Lay a little trap out for him will ya?"

"Sounds good to me."

Knowing shadow riders they loved the dark and with Hooper Street having only one alleyway he would more than likely take it. As he ran against the wall though he saw his pursuer running right next to him.

"Going somewhere, besides jail?"

"Come on man I'm just trying to make a living." he begged as he took the bait.

Just as he though, as soon as he spotted the darkness he fled right into it. Now it was all up to her as he stood outside and waited. He kept on running though until he saw he was in the clear. With sweat running down his face he jumped out from the wall and took a deep breath.

"Stupid punk, who does he think he is? Huh, what's this goop?" he asked as a puddle of black goop began to form under his feet.

It was clear though that it was all a set up when it began hardening around his feet before walls of the stuff shot up. Within seconds he was trapped within a black box. He struggled and struggled but as hard as he tried he couldn't break free of his prison, he had been duped.

As Al waited outside though snow began to fall once more just as his partner walked from the darkness of the alleyway carrying a large, black box.

"Whoa nice catch, I guess you learned a new trick on your own huh?"

"Yep, it's all there in my mothers book so I decided to try something new out."

"Awesome, and good job catching him." he said as they both gave a high five.

Within fifteen minutes the M.P.F was out and ready to take in their newest perp. With Frank as the chief everything ran fairly smoothly, though his son preferred to play with the little kids at a daycare he didn't judge him for that. They wanted to make life with monsters as comfortable as possible for humans.

"Hey Frank we got you a present." Al said as Julie uncovered the worm.

"Awe that's nice of you two and I know just where to put him." he said with a grin directed towards the punk.

With his invention the Calming Cuffs arresting monsters became a breeze. With Mellina's help they were able to lock away any monster's strength and energy, leaving them completely empty and drained. Once he was loaded up up Julie called her matter back to her cylinder as Alucard stretched for a few seconds.

"Hey Al I was wondering, the winter festival is coming up this week and I was wonder if maybe you would like to go...with me?" she asked as her cheeks turned a bit red.

"Hm, yeah that sounds like fun. We haven't had too many days off this year anyways so this could be good for all of us. Yeah, I'm in." he said with excitement as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks, my father has been a bit busy at City Hall lately and he probably wouldn't make it and I know everyone else will probably be there..."

"Whoa Juls, I'll come. You're my friends after all and I couldn't just leave you out there alone to let some sleaze ball catch you."

"Oh please someone does try anything I'll catch them just like I did back there. Remember what happened to you when I caught you peaking?"

"Yeah you used the gunk to tie me to a garlic stand. I can still feel those burns too." he teased as they both began to chuckle.

Yes life had changed, whether it was good or bad they were both just glad that they didn't have to hide anymore. With the snow falling all around them and Christmas quickly approaching life could only get better.

"Hey uh Julie, could I have a sip?"

"Geez, don't you have anymore back at home?"

"No, my dad drank them all when he was trying to create a new alcoholic drink."

All she did was roll her eyes and smile as she pulled her hair back to expose her neck.

"Just a sip."

"Got it." he said as his fangs pierced her neck.

Oh well, he was a vampire after all and even if he didn't but a sip to quench his thirst he still needed some. She didn't mind though as long as he wasn't too rough. She was his partner after all. Gulp by gulp he took a bit of blood from her until he let go only to lick the wounds to seal them up.

"Ah...gotta say, you're the sweetest around." he said as he rubbed his stomach.

"Is that suppose to be some kind of pick up line?" she teased.

"Maybe..."

And with that they both headed to the arcade to enjoy the rest of their day together.


	2. Chapter 2 Just An Average Day

Chapter 2

Just an Average Day

The Monster Police Force, or as it's known to many the M.P.F, founded over a little half a year ago their duty was simple, to keep the streets safe from any monster related threat while the human police force kept their attention on human criminals. It was a simple but effective system, those who came quietly would be subjugated to special classes that would explain to them why what they did was bad and would teach them other ways to pass the time, the ones who refused though, well they were captured and arrested unless worst came to worse then they would be terminated. It took some time for Alucard to learn the ropes and to not pulverize every criminal he saw, but eventually he got the hang of it. Even so it was nice and it worked rather well.

The day was going by rather swimmingly for Frank and his teammates as he threw their newest edition to their jail into the slammer. After the battle between them and Nightmare one of the abandoned factories were redone and with a bit of magic and some elbow grease it was transformed into a high security prison where there was no way out, even by magical standards. Almost eight stories down with over a hundred cells for their pesky little friends, that would do the trick.

"So how did it go out there? Have any trouble bringing him in?" asked Vlad as he sat on his desk, sipping his coffee mixed with a bit of blood.

"Nah, your son and his partner sure have been wracking up quite the numbers lately."

"Oh, what's their count at now?"

"At around twenty for this month."

"Oh that's my boy! Oh sorry." he said as he quieted himself down.

"Yeah, I think not having to hide anymore has a helped him a lot too. No more human forms, just our true selves, wouldn't you agree that that's better?"

"Hells yes, it feel so good to stretch my real legs for a change. Heck I can remember when I first started hiding among the humans, it was frightening but I learned a lot." he said as he took another sip.

"Now look, yep things seem to be getting better around here. Oh you said you had something you needed to show me?"

"Yeah one of our men managed to get a picture of whatever it is." he replied as he handed him the large photo.

It wasn't much though, just a blurred out photo with something dark taking up half the picture.

"Where did he take this from?"

"He claimed he saw it while vacationing in the U.K, but he wasn't really specific as to where. I don't know I think he may be going a bit wonky."

"Yeah plus what use it this? All it looks like is a black blob."

"Right, so up for the club later?"

"You? Wouldn't Eva get mad though, you remember how mad you got the first time she saw you there?"

"Yeah she grabbed me and dragged me home by my collar, but then we made up and had some..."

"Alright enough, I don't need to know about your love life." he said as he threw the picture in the trash can.

Meanwhile at the daycare down town things were really picking up with Locke and Mellina, both of which were helping out with the kids parents by watching over them while they were away. They had their own little facility they could use as well payed for by the city, it wasn't too big but it got the job done. Inside there were toys, books, and a T.V along with a few movies. As it stood it was both of their jobs to make sure they didn't get into too much trouble.

"And then book my dad and the police destroyed the first marker. That's when we knew we were close to victory. Then bam, Rorik took out the the last target before my friend Alucard and his partner finished him off for good. Yeah, it was a great day for us indeed." he said in such a proud tone as the kids turned all ears towards him.

"Tah like that was real, I saw that on T.V and it looked so fake."

Great, Travis Harper, the new kid who moved in just weeks before. Nine years old and he still had a loud mouth, weren't kids suppose to be easy to handle?

"Oh what makes you say that?" asked Mellina.

"Just look at him, that's the cheapest Halloween make up I've ever seen. People said that there were real monsters here well I haven't see any."

"Hm, alright well how about this. Close your eyes and I'll prove to you that I'm a true blue monster then."

"Fine, but you're not." he said as he closed his eyes.

What was he going to show him? Some fake parlor tricks he had seen before or maybe a fake bat? Whatever it was he wasn't scared, or at least that's what he thought before something landed in his hands. It was smooth but cold and it was kind of lumpy as well. As soon as he opened his eyes though he was greeted with the disembodied head of his caretaker as his eyes stared straight up at him.

"Boo..." he said just as he dropped his head.

As he backed up though he noticed none of the other kids weren't scared at all, in fact they were laughing at the sight of him backing up.

"Now do you believe us?" she asked as she used her power of levitation to lay his head back on his body.

"But you, monsters aren't real are they?" he asked himself.

"Look kid when we first revealed ourselves people were just as confused as you are right now. Heck some even wanted us gone, but as time passed and they saw we weren't doing anything bad to them it all eventually died off. Trust me, we aren't as scary as you think we are." he said as he pushed his bandana onto the kids head.

And with that little lesson learned it was time for the kids to leave once again. Parent by parent came in to pick up their kids as they all waved goodbye to them all. When Travis's mother came in though she stopped to thank them for their services.

"Thank you both for watching over my little boy. I hope he didn't cause too much trouble."

"No, no not at all, we had a lot of fun today." said Locke.

As he looked down at Travis though he seemed a bit more calm now that his mother was there.

"Oh that's good. Well I hope you two have a good day then." she told them as they both left.

Speaking of the day the sun was staring to reach its limit as it approached the horizon.

"Ah well that was an interesting day. Best I better get home though." he told her as he turned to leave.

"Hey Locke don't you think you went a bit too far with that kid? I mean he's only nine and you kind of threw your head into his hands."

"I guess, but hey kids are hardheaded. It's best to show them the truth rather than try and explain it or else we would had carried on for the rest of the time with his questions."

"Right, so I'll see you back here tomorrow?"

"Yep, catch you later." he replied as she turned the lights off and locked the door after another days work.

Working in the human world was actually pretty different than working in the Underground, but it wasn't impossible and in fact it was a bit more fun. She could had went into the medical field but school wasn't really her thing, plus she liked working with kids more. It was strange though that Locke had decided to partner up with her though, after all he didn't really seem like the kid type. In fact she began to notice a lot of things about him that she hadn't before, he was strong, brave, a quick thinker, and he was good with kids. It kind of made her re-think about going after Alucard as a mate. Only time would tell though if she would end up feeling that way about him though and as the sun began to set so did the events of that day.


	3. Chapter 3 Running of the Bull

Chapter 3

Running of the Bull

One more day, there was only one more day until the festival officially opened and boy was everyone excited. With the kids on winter break and the adults off from work both could sit back and enjoy themselves. If it wasn't for Frank and his little construction team of cyclopes and rock giants the festival may not had been up in time though, but thanks to them it was very nearly complete. All that was left to do was set up the last few food stands and everything would be in order. It was that special time of year but this year it was even more special.

It was still fairly early in the morning when people began filling up their stands with whatever they needed, toys for the kids stands, food for the snack stands, and the performance stand where the band would be playing. It wasn't small either, it stretched for nearly four blocks down on Jefferson Street so to keep everyone safe while they worked a police barricade was set up to prevent anyone from driving in. All they had to do was wait one more day though and the fun times would start rolling once more.

As the rest of the festival was finishing up though Carrie Fletcher took charge of the newsstand. It was a fairly boring job but it was better than being around the hot grills or annoying kids. All she had for entertainment though was a fashion magazine, which she didn't really care for at all, but it was all she had to read until lunch break. With her feet up on the stand she leaned back in her chair just as two people road up on a motorcycle.

"Can I help you?" she asked as the two jumped off the bike.

"Yeah, we're from out of town but we've heard this place is pretty magical." the man said as he raised the visor of his helmet up.

"Oh yeah, things got kind of crazy last year. We learned to live with it though so it's no big deal."

"Good, good, say I'm looking for someone. Here let me show you."

Once he reached into he pocket he pulled out an old news article from about a year ago. On it though was a group photo of Alucard and his friends posing with the police force.

"Yeah they're around here somewhere."

"Ah, I actually meant this guy, right here." he said as he pointed to the boy standing in the very center.

"Oh yeah that's Alucard. He's a friend of my dads."

"Right so do you know where he is?" he asked.

"Last I saw he was headed towards the BBQ cook-off. It's not too far from here, just go down the street and take a left on Hooper."

"Nice, thanks lady." he said as they both jumped back on their bike and took off.

"Huh, strange people." she said to herself as she went back to reading.

Meanwhile down the road both Ela and Julie were busy drinking a bit of hot coco as they waited for the festival to start. The snow had stopped falling and the sun was out and bright as ever which made Ela feel a bit weak, but at this point she had gotten use to it.

"Are you feeling alright? You look like you're about to nod off." asked Julie.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to get use to being out in the sun. I was always cooped up in the club or at our house so I never experienced the effects the sun had on my brother until now." she said as she took a sip of her drink.

"Well if you want we could always go back to my house and hang out until everything's done here. That way once the sun goes down you'll have all your energy and strength back."

"Nah it's alright, I've experienced far worse than this."

Yeah while the sun didn't kill them like in the books it tended to sap away some of their energy which lowered their strength, but that didn't stop them from enjoying themselves. As long as she didn't get doused with water or touched garlic she would be perfectly fine. As she sat slumped over the table though she noticed that her friend seemed a bit discouraged about something.

"Is something wrong? You look a bit down."

"Oh it's, it's nothing. Just thinking about the festival is all."

"Oh, oh wait it's about my brother isn't it?! Are you finally going to smooch with him tonight? Come on you can tell me." she begged.

"What, no that isn't it at all!"

"Oh don't lie to me, you know you want to."

"Ela!"

"Heh heh alright fine, but really what's going on?"

Well if she had to tell her it couldn't hurt right?

"Alright, you know how after what happened with Nightmare Al said he would train me to become a better partner?"

"Yeah."

"It's been over a year and I've barely learned anything new. He's so busy with the M.P.D that he never really offers to train me at all. Does he even want me as his partner anymore?"

"Oh don't say that, you're both great together and I'm sure he wouldn't want to have anyone else but you as his partner. He's just busy is all."

"Yeah but still..what is something else comes along and I'm not ready?"

"True, hm, well there may be one solution to that but I'm not sure if you're up for it."

"What is it?"

"Alright so you know how our dad has two other brothers?"

"Yeah, they spread across the world after the Hunt."

"Right, well when I was little he barely had any time to train me, but he did allow me to train with my Uncle Dimitri. He trained me in the dark arts for three years and after all that I came out stronger and more keen."

"So he can train me here, that sounds good."

"Eh not exactly, like you said they ended up spreading out across the globe so Dimitri very rarely leaves his castle. If you want to train with him you're going to have go with him."

"So where does he live?"

"Alaska."

"Alaska?! Oh no, that's too far away. What if something comes up?"

"Well it's your choice. Don't worry though I'm sure our father wouldn't have a problem going up there with him."

Alaska, that was really far away and what about Alucard? As long as they were together their contract could be invoked but if she was half way to the top of the world how would he do it? Oh her head hurt just thinking about all the possible outcomes. She didn't want to leave her friends and family but she wanted to get stronger for them all as well, maybe she could even learn some new dark matter tricks as well.

"Oh why can't things ever just be simple?" she asked herself as she rubbed her aching head.

It wasn't enough though that her head was all jumbled up but then the ground began to shake slightly as something let out a roar. When they looked down the street though it was just a normal sight for them, Alucard was getting chased by what looked like a bull but with blue skin, six red eyes, and eight legs that stomped the ground.

"Hey sup bro?" she asked as he got closer.

"Not now sis." he replied as he ran right past them with the bull right on his tail.

"Think he'll be alright?" asked Julie.

"Yeah, unless he trips up then he'll just get stomped."

Why was he being chased by a Alkine? Oh right because Frank was a giant jerk! Of course the damn thing had to get out and since he was the fastest out them all he was charged with luring the bull away from the populated area. His brain was like a map though as he kept at least four feet ahead of the beast.

"Jackson Street, that's pretty empty isn't it? Yeah that sounds good to me." he thought to himself as he looked back.

Yep it was still right on him as he took a hard right down Jackson Street. Jackson Street lead the way downtown where no one dared lived because of the gangs, but he wasn't afraid of them. There were still a few people around though so he couldn't stop. As he continued running though he heard what sounded like a motorbike pulling up beside him.

"Hey, so 'sup?" the guy asked as he rode along side him.

"Oh nothing, just trying to take out this thing."

"Ah, seems fun." the guy said as he looked back at the bull.

"Yeah, so what's up?" he asked as he continued running.

"Oh me and my girl here had to get out of town for the week. It's been pretty lame around there lately so we decided to come down here for the festival. Is that cool?"

"Yeah, sounds great."

"Hey do you need any help man? You look kind of worn out."

"Nah, it's just the sun it all. I'll be fine."

"Alright, oh by the way you may want to duck."

But by the time he turned his head to look the beast had already launched his attack right between both of its horns. An energy ball, that was kind of similar to his dark bolt, was heading his way. Even with the sun beating down on him though he could still fight as he moved to the side slightly as the attack hit the pavement below.

"Whoa dude, that was a pretty sick dodge there."

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet."

With no one else really around but them now it was time to finish it off. As soon as he stopped he spun quickly around and grabbed the horns of the bull before he lifted it clean off the ground. With one toss he threw it to the ground as he changed up a bolt of his own, but the beast wasn't dumb as it jumped right back to its feet.

"Alright bring it."

At the same exact time they both began to charge up their own attacks, but with a bit of a lead Alucard just managed to beat it before he shot his off. In a surprised reaction though he saw something he had never seen a wild animal do before, it actually dodged to the side and with perfect timing to as it began firing its own bolt.

"Whoa there buddy I got you." the guy said as he reached for the tool belt under his jacket.

What he pulled out though kind of confused him though, it looked just like any ordinary wrench, that's what he thought at the beginning at least. With a nice, gentle toss though the transformed into what looked like a tazer at first but as soon as it made a connection with the bull's attack it began charging it up. It made it stronger and stronger, so strong in fact that as soon as it reached its maximum capacity it ignited the attack and sent it right back into the beast's face. A small shock-wave almost knocked Al to the ground but when it didn't he looked up and saw the corpse of the headless animal laying before him as the wrench transformed back.

"Whoa, a bit extreme don't you think?"

"Extreme? Man you're really losing your touch Alucard."

"No don't be...wait how did you know my name?"

He didn't need to tell him though instead he grabbed his helmet and pulled it right off to reveal his spiky black hair and yellow eyes.

"You..."

"It's been quite some time hasn't it brother?" he said as the woman got off the bike behind him.

Just before anything could progress though both Ela and Julie came running towards them before they stopped. Their eyes were dead set on each other as they glared at each other. The tension was thick as they two grew closer with their fists clentched.

"Alucard?" Julie asked to try and snap him out of it.

But instead Ela simply kept her at bay as they both watched the events unfold.

"Ten years, that's how long it's been right?" asked Al.

"Seems that way, are you prepared?"

"You're damn right I am." he replied as he threw the first punch.

What they were expecting was a fight, instead all they got was a nice fist bump before they locked hands into a nice handshake.

"So they know each other right." said Julie.

"Oh yeah."

Once they let go though they both gave a respectful bow to each other.

"Good to see you again Kuruma."

"It's good to be back home too brother."


	4. Chapter 4 Festival Time

Chapter 4

Festival Time

So the day started out pretty well, he met up with his friends, he drank some of Julie's blood, he got chased by a bull and he even managed to meet up with his childhood friend. After ten long years he had finally returned to his home town where they first met and he still had the same dumb hair style he had as a kids, things never changed. After they wrangled themselves a nice, juicy bull though they carried it all the way back to the BBQ festival where Mr. Cooligan, one of the cyclopes participating, was readying the spit. After the long trip from his home back to Magnolia though Kuruma was really hungry and smelling the roasting meat of that succulent bovine was just making him drool all over as his fuzzy ears and tail popped out from his head and pants.

"Oh man that smells great. When can we eat?" he asked as he leaned over the rolling bovine.

"Oh don't worry it doesn't take long to cook something like this." Cooligan said as he sprinkled a bit of seasoning.

"Good because I'm really ouch! Katy what's the big idea?" he asked her as she smacked him over the head with a newspaper.

"You shouldn't drool over other peoples food sweetie. Now come and sit down." she said as she patted the seat beside her.

"So Kuruma you said you were his brother? You told me Ela was your only sibling." she said as she glared on him.

"She is, let him explain it though." he replied as he motioned to his wolf friend.

"Oh right, it's pretty simple actually. You see my mother originally came a clan of werewolves that would accept others into their lives whether they were vampires, trolls, humans, they didn't really care what you were as long as you posed no threat or harm to them. It's just a title she use to give to those who she grew a bond with."

"Oh, sorry about that." she said to Al.

"It's alright, I should had told you about him a long time ago. Speaking of bonds it seems you two kind of kicked it off as well, uh..."

"It's Katy but he calls me Kat."

"Oh yeah she's my darling little Kat alright." he said as he grabbed one of her buns only for her to knock him upside the head again.

"Right...so how did you two meet?" asked Ela.

"Well actually it wasn't too long after I moved into my new house. We just kind of hit it off you know? After she graduated from college though she began working as a teacher at the local elementary school. That's pretty much the whole story."

What kind of caught Julie's attention though was that she was a college graduate, so that meant she had to be at least twenty one or older. If they were both that close then was he also that old? He didn't look much older than her and Al and they were eighteen. Oh who was she to judge anyways?

"So what you Katy? A elemental? A mermaid? Oh maybe another werewolf?"

"Al, don't push it." his sister hissed at him.

"Oh no it's quite alright, I'm actually human."

Well that was a surprise to everyone.

"Human, and you aren't scared?" asked Ela.

"Well at first I was, but through time I grew use to it. It was quite the surprise though to find out my own friend was a monster, after ten years of friendship." she said as she gripped Kuruma's shoulder.

"I said I was sorry, I just thought you would of freaked out if I told you, but just think we have an eternity to spend together."

"But wait she's human, aren't we the only ones who can live that long?"

"Not with the proper spell. After our marriage I have her a bit of my blood and the local witch turned it into a potion and bingo, instant eternal elixir."

"It may seem bad but he really is a great husband. Strong, supportive, he entertains the kids during recess and he can cook too."

"Yeah I can cook, can you cook Alucard?" he asked with a sneer.

"Oh who needs that when you've got criminals to round up Kuruma. I bet you don't have that kind of job to you pup."

"Heh I wouldn't want to work for someone, I'm my own man unlike you. What was that? You work for the M.P.F now? Alrighty then."

"Grrrr fine then how about a race. First one to circle the entire city first wins." he said with great gusto.

"Oh what of the loser then?"

"The loser will have to buy buy the winner snacks for the entire festival. Seven days, 24 hours, think you can do that?" he teased.

"Oh but it will you who will be the loser." he replied as they both got lined up.

With the sun right overhead it wouldn't be easy for the young vampire, but he had gone through much worse and with his confidence level reaching into the stratosphere he was certain he would win.

"Don't forget bro you're racing against a werewolf here. We aren't known for being slow."

"And don't you forget that I'm no push over there. Now let's go!"

And with that they were off as a trail of dust followed them as they both kicked their feet against the ground as hard as they could, but in the meanwhile their other friends were left in the dust.

"Geez, we really need to get them both leashes." said Julie.

"Oh you really think that will hold those two down? Kuruma was able to escape me with a tazer dart in his neck."

"And knowing my brother even a pool wouldn't stop him from winning. Hell he would probably try and swim through it."

As they sat, waiting for their roadrunner to return Rorik rolled up on him with his new, more human attire.

"Whoa dad what happened to your cloak?" Julie said as she saw him dressed in a a big fluffy jacket.

"What? Since they know about us why shouldn't I wear something a bit different? Plus it's like the arctic out here. Do you want your dear old dad to turn into an ice cube?"

"Heh heh no but you don't have to wear something so baggy."

"Yeah, you kind of look like a giant marshmallow." Ela followed up.

"Oh..."

"Come on let's go find something a little more suitable for you." said Julie as they both left for the winter store down the street.

As the hours passed the sun began to make its descent behind the city, but at around three o'clock everything had been completed. The stands were all set up, the light fixtures were all arranged properly, and with no dark clouds in sight the first night of the festival was looking rather nice and with only a few hours left it was only a matter of time before Julie and the others could finally kick back and relax after a years worth of work and if anything did happen Frank and his men along with Fletcher would jump in to take care of the problem. If anyone was going to ruin the festivities for anyone it was going to be the drunks.

Later that night at around seven twenty-one Julie was in her room as she tried to decide what to wear. For everything that happened that day she was worried about how she would look for her friend. Would he really care what she looked like? Probably not, but she wanted to look her best.

"Ah, there we go. That should do it."

Laid out on her bed was a long sleeve light purple sweater and on top was a short denim jacket and to keep her legs and ankles all nice and toasty she grabbed some nice, tight blue jeans to show off her curves a bit then to finish it all some normal red and white snow shoes.

"Knock, knock, can I come in?"

"Yeah dad it's open."

Once he opened the door he let it hang open as she stretched his arms in his new dark green jacket.

"That's a pretty nice outfit. Are you going with anyone?"

"Yeah, Alucard said he was going to take me."

"Take you? In what way?" he asked in a more intimidating tone.

"Relax, he's just taking me to the festival. It'll be fun for the both of us plus his friend just came back into town so please would you try and not to breath down his neck?"

"But what if tries something?"

"OK well first off I can fight him off and second he won't. We've known each other for almost a year and a half and he has to yet try anything like that. Heck he even kind of shy when I get dressed up. Not all guys are perverts dad."

"Alright...if you're sure, but if he tries anything just use that scythe to, you know. Slice, slice."

"Dad!"

"OK, just stay safe tonight and have fun." he said as he left her room.

"Christ I swear..."

Well it was time to get changed and head out to the entrance. With a night of fun awaiting she wanted to waste no time in getting started as she grabbed her phone and bolted out he door.


	5. Chapter 5 Unexpected Guest

Chapter 5

Unexpected Guest

The music, the lights, the cheerful cries of her fellow citizens was like music to her ears as she neared the entrance. What a beautiful sight it was too, multi-colored lanterns hung all the way to very end of the festival, people were dressed up as different characters from classic Christmas stories, even some of her fellow monsters managed to find something that worked like how a rock giant managed to dress up like Scrooge and some of the succubus were dressed as Mrs. Clause, if not just to attract men and inside it all were the games, food, and just pure enjoyment that she had been brought up with since she was little.

With the freezing cold whether they had been having recently it was no wonder people were all bundled up but at least the snow had quit falling for a while but even so it was still a bit difficult walking in the frozen wonderland. As the sun went down though she finally saw the entrance where everyone handed in their stubs to enter, but where was Alucard? He said he would meet her at the entrance so they could go in together.

"Oh...Al where are you?" she wondered as she looked down at her watch.

They still had plenty of time to enjoy themselves but she really wanted to go with someone other than her dad. She was eighteen now and being seen with someone of her own age group would maker her feel even less like a child. Oh well, maybe he had already headed inside with the others. As she turned to walk in though she was greeted by a pair of red eyes that stared directly into hers.

"So, you waiting for a kiss?" she heard him say as she jumped back, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Christ, couldn't you greet me like a normal person?"

"Oh come on, you know you liked that. I could feel your heart beat. Bump, bump, bump, it's getting faster Julie." he teased as he jumped down from the tree.

"Hah hah, seriously I thought you had forgotten about me though. It bummed me out a bit." she replied as she looked up at him with her innocent eyes.

"Yeah like I would forget about meeting my own friend here. Come on I can be forgetful, but I'm not that forgetful." he said as he pulled showed her his ticket stub.

"Yeah, I guess you're right there. At least you didn't forget about my birthday." she replied as they both handed in their stubs.

And with that they were in their way and thanks to a bit of reconstruction that Frank, Rorik, and Millena both worked on the streets were all wide enough so that they weren't overcrowded. Men, women, children, they were all there and everything was looking good. The kids were having fun as some ran along the street with the toys they won as their parents tried to keep up with them. The memories of her first time attending the festival began to flood back, the colorful surroundings, the uplifting atmosphere, and just the pure joy of having fun was all returning.

With around eight dollars in his pocket he had everything covered as they went booth to booth playing whatever games met their fancy. From a simple game of ring toss to shooting the enemies to win a prize, even though he wasn't much for simple games like that it was good to see that she was enjoying herself as was he and with the sun out and moon out he had never felt more alive.

"Hey come on you can play too." she offered as she picked up the plastic gun.

"Hm, I guess I can give it a shot. How much was it again?" he asked the tender.

"Two dollars for one round and three for two rounds." the naga said as he took out his wallet.

Once he gave her the two dollars he slid a plastic pistol over to him, which actually looked pretty real. With precision aiming he pulled the trigger as they both went at it with all they had. Bullet by bullet the enemies fell at their hands until every single one had been knocked down.

"Wow, that's the fastest I think I've ever seen anyone take them down. I guess you want your prize right?" she asked him.

"Nah, let her pick. I'm not much for plushies."

"Are you sure you didn't want anything?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I've got plenty of stuff already in my room anyways. Plus a vampire such as myself can't be caught with a fluffy bunny in his room."

"Hm, alright I guess I'll take the penguin." she replied.

"Alright and here you go and I hope you two have a good evening." she said as they took her prize and walked off.

Just seeing the smile on her face was a prize enough for him in fact seeing everyone having fun together was quite the sight for him. As they walked along the path they heard a familiar voice come up from behind them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my little bro and..."

"Julie." she replied as both Kuruma and Kat walked up to them.

"Right Julie, so are you both enjoying the festival?"

"Yeah, for the most part and you?" Alucard replied.

"Oh yeah, we're having a great time. What were you two planning on doing next?" asked Kat.

"Not really sure, what do you feel like doing next?" he asked his partner.

"Hm, how about we all settle down for something to eat. The live band event is about to start anyways and I'm getting a bit hungry."

"Yeah me too, we didn't eat any dinner before coming her so my stomach is like a black hole now. Say Al want to bet..." but before he could proceed his love pinched his fluffy ear.

"No more contests please, this is a place for enjoyment and entertainment. Just do it for me." Kat asked of him as she gave him with puppy dog eyes.

"Heh alright, let's just eat them." he said as they both fist bumped.

And so they did, not too far down the road they found a stand that was selling chicken and onion on a stick. It sounded pretty delicious, but to Al the chicken smelled a bit weird. Still he got a plate anyways and sat down with his friends as the band began to sing "Let it Go".

"Oh I love this song." said Kat as she gave all ears to the performers.

"Yeah...you listen to it every time you're in the bath. Doesn't it kind of bland though hearing it over and over though?"

And just like that she was gone, her mind was only on the music beside them as he let out a sigh. Typical, once her mind was on something it was tough to pull it away. Whatever, they had food to eat so without stalling any further they began digging in. Everything was fairly good but for the life of him Al couldn't eat onions. They left a really bad taste in his mouth each time so all he had to work with were the chunks of chicken.

"Oh boy, that hit the spot." said Kuruma as he leaned back in his seat.

"Really, that's all you can eat? Shouldn't you be inhaling all your meals?" Al said as he took a bite of his meal.

"Hey, hey now I've got control. See smooth."

Something wasn't right though. The longer he chewed on the chunks of chicken the more his throat began to heat up.

"Hey Al are you feeling alright dude?" he asked.

"Yeah you're looking a little red there. Do you need something to drink?" offered Julie.

"Ga-Garlic chicken?" he asked as his throat began to sting.

"Yep, why don't like it?" asked Kat.

"You swallowed garlic?! Man that's freaking dangerous for you. Come on spit it out." Kuruma said as he began patting him on the back.

It was too late though, the piece of meat was already resting in his stomach and thanks to the seasoning his throat felt as if it was on fire.

"Here, drink this." Julie said as she quickly pulled his flask off his belt loop.

At one point it held fresh blood that would of stopped the pain but then he remembered he had drank all of it while they visited each stand. With no blood his throat continued to burn more and more until he saw Julie pull back her hair, but instead of taking it he shook his head.

"Come on I don't mind this time, just take it."

But he was just as stubborn as ever.

"Do you want a hole in your throat?"

On second thought he needed it so with haste he bit into her neck and began drinking. With each gulp the stinging sensation began to fade as he swallowed small portions of her blood supply. Once he took about four gulps though he pulled off as the pain subsided.

"Wow dude, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess I should had checked it out first before I ate it huh? Are you alright? I didn't drink too much did I?" he asked, in fear he might had taken a bit too much in fear of his life.

"Nope, I'm alright, but don't be so stubborn next time" she said as she flicked his forehead.

"Heh right..."

"Sorry about that, I forgot that your kind couldn't get near garlic. I'm very sorry." Kat said.

"Eh it's alright, you didn't mean to do it after all." he replied as he cleared his throat.

What a relief to them all, especially to Julie. She didn't mind giving him blood when he needed it, but it was only when he surprised her that ticked her off. At least it was all over and things could go on as planned. As the three finished up their little meal the song changed to a much slower melody and while under the moonlight it felt so surreal.

"Ah...so beautiful. Kuruma can we?" asked Kat.

"Oh...but you know how I feel about dancing. You saw what happened at the wedding."

"I see...it's alright then I guess I'll just find a new partner, maybe that hunk I saw on the way in do it with me."

Another man? Taking his girl? Oh hell no that wasn't going to happen.

"Oh heck no, come on we're doing this." he proclaimed as he took her by the wrist.

Romantic music, under the full moon, with loads of other people watching, it kind of made Julie's stomach churn just thinking about doing that. She was never the best dancer but when she had to she worked with what she had. Still it was a very nice night out, but there was something she had to discuss with her partner.

"Hey Al, could we talk for a bit?"

"Yeah sure, what's up?"

How was she to tell him? With his family's approval along with her own fathers it was his decision that would decide her future.

"So me and Ela were talking yesterday about my training and everything."

"Oh yeah? Ready for the tough stuff?" he asked with added enthusiasm.

"Yeah but you see I..."

But just when she was about to break the news everything went silent. The music that had been playing suddenly stopped as the amps shut down completely as the monitors on the nearby builds began to flicker rapidly.

"Whoa man what's going on?" asked Kuruma as he and his wife broke the moment.

As both Julie and Alucard stood up though they saw a strange figure approaching the center fountain. At first it was dark and hard to make out but once its arms opened up a power presence began sweeping over everyone in the surrounding area.

"Oh my friends, I have returned to you all after all these years. For so long we struggled and for long we waited, but now we can rebuild anew." he said as he approached the fountain in the center of the plaza.

What was he talking about? Everyone was just looking around like they had no clue at all including Alucard and the others.

"Uh dude, a friend of yours?" asked Kuruma.

"Not that I've seen. I've never seen him around town before." he replied as they both prepared for the worst.

While they both focused their attention on the mysterious man both Kat and Julie were also prepping for battle, just in case things got a little fuzzy.

"What's wrong? Do you not remember the promise we all made? The structure we vowed to uphold? Do you remember anything?" he asked as his aura began to manifest.

As everyone looked at each other Alucard decided to step in with his own little friendly gesture.

"Hey, sup buddy? So, did you come for the party or what?" he asked as he grabbed a wine glass off the nearby wine stand and poured a bit of red wine into it.

"Party, what for?" he asked in a stressed out voice.

"For winter, come on don't tell me you haven't noticed all the snow. Come on just get down from there and we can all have some fun." he asked of him as he handed him the glass of wine.

At first he seemed pretty calm and cool but as he took the glass from his it began to crack as he crushed it in his hand. Just as he was getting on his good side he had to start levitating off the ground as his green eyes lit up.

"How could all forget me? After all that I did for you?! The food, the medical services, the animals we all gave you and you've forgotten? How could you forget us? You lied to us!"

Oh lord things were getting out of control as he began charging up for an attack and from the feel of it this one was pretty damn strong. In less than a second though he opened up his hand as a gash opened up along his palm and inside, a beam of unknown energy shot out right towards him.

"Al!" Julie yelled as her container appeared.

With one flick of her wrist the dark matter poured out as it latch itself into his wrist before creating a large, circular shield. He tried the best he could to push the attack back with the new found protection, but it was just too powerful and instead threw him into a hotdog stand.

"Geez, alright bud you want to go then let's tussle." he said as he jumped out from the wreckage.

But just like that he was gone. It couldn't had been his imagination because everyone else was talking about it and the pieces of the wine glass were still laying on the ground. What was he talking about too? In fact who was he?


	6. Chapter 6 His Choice

Chapter 6

His Choice

Who was that guy and what was his damage? Was he only there to ruin the fun for everyone else? Well whoever he was they were going to find him and once they did they would give him his just desserts. They had worked too hard on the festival to let some energy shooting moron roll up in it and not only disturb the peace but also threaten them. Seriously, if Alucard and Julie hadn't interfered who know what kind of damage he would had done, his ass was there's once they found him. Still, there was one problem that they faced.

"He's not in the database?! What do you mean he's not in it?" Officer Fletcher asked as his frustration began to rise.

"It means that he's not a part of this city's total population. Look we have files on almost every citizen, human or not and from the video feed we received he doesn't appear to be in any of our documents."

"So you're saying you can't find him?" Fletcher asked as he began grinding his teeth.

"Relax, we'll find him for sure right Frank?"

"Oh yeah we're going to find him alright. No one threatens this city without getting a good thrashing. Don't worry, we'll go through every document, every book, and we'll leave no stone unturned until we've found him. Don't you worry about a thing."

"Ai, alright fine." he replied with a heavy sigh.

"Look you've been out all night, go home and rest up. We'll stay here and try to find any info we can on him and we'll report it to you in the morning." Frank said as he threw a few more files onto his desk.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Better get going before my daughter worries about me." he said as he gave them both a wave goodbye.

If they were to find the punk who tried to crash the festival they were going to need to do a bit more digging. If he wasn't in their files then perhaps they would find something new in one of their books of monsters and mystics. Inside were the names and descriptions of almost every species of monster known to them, from the mighty vampire and werewolf to the simple neko, if he was a monster then there was a good chance he would in it.

"Alright well I guess I'll catch you tomorrow. Remember to work hard and all that jazz." Vlad said as he began walking towards the door.

"Nope, you're staying right here and helping me." replied Frank as he grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back.

"Awe really, but I need to check up on Eva. Who knows what's happened since she left for her parents last week."

"Relax, she'll understand once you tell her. Just pull up a seat and start looking." he said as he began looking through the different files.

Fighting monsters, he could handle that, but staying up all night to do nothing but read through numerous books? Nope, he would die before the sun would rise, but as long as Frank was there he was pretty much stuck there. With a seat pulled up he sat down and with a heavy sigh began reading through one of the other books. How he despised it.

Meanwhile near the center of the city both Alucard and Julie surveyed the area in hope that they would find the punk who sent him flying. With the darkness of night surrounding them though if they did run up upon him then Al would be ready. As for the festival all the stands closed down for the night so that they could survey the area without any distractions from the other citizens. While they walked though Al called up Jerel who had left for Hawaii just a few days before the festival had started.

"Yeah man he came up on us, blasted me with an attack and just left."

"Dang, and you didn't recognize him at all?" his friend asked.

"Nope, don't worry though we'll find him sooner or later."

"And you'll bring the rain right?"

"Something along those lines. Anyways I'll talk to you later man."

"Alright, let me know how it goes." said Jerel before he hung up his phone.

With the amount of snow falling though he wasn't sure if they would meet again. By the time he got back they both would probably be nothing but two Popsicles. Still having her along did help keep his mind off the cold and on the job at hand.

"Hey once we finish up here want to head home and play some Guild Wars 2?"

"Oh so you finally got it after how long?" she asked as she teased him.

"Hey, I have my eyes on other things other than mmos."

"Oh really, like what?" she asked in a snark tone.

"Well...food and water."

"But water hurts you doesn't it?"

Crap, caught in the act.

"Anyways, so you want to or not?"

"Actually there's something I need to talk to you about before we do anything." she said as she stopped him.

"Hm, like what?" he asked as he tried to not slip on the icy road.

She had him right where she wanted him, now all she had to do was ask him.

"I've been thinking about this and I was wondering if it would be alright if I could go train with your uncle up in Alaska."

For a second she though the snow had frozen him as he stood before her stiff as a statue before he turned back around to face her.

"In Alaska huh? Hm, well my uncle is a pretty big jerk at times and it is pretty cold. No, veto."

Had she heard him correctly?

"Veto, what? Wait you can't just veto my request."

"You're right, so here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to lean in towards you and whisper it sexually into your ear. Veto..."

"Oh come on, you said you were going to help me train, but all you've been doing is this."

"Yeah because it's my job. I help keep the peace in the city and so do you. I can't just go off train you with the possible threats lurking in or around the city."

"Fine then, your parents and my dad have already approved of me going. I'm going and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh yeah wanna bet? I've taken down a god, you think I can't keep you here?" he said angrily.

"That was the two of us and no you can't. You're not my father and if you were really my friend then you would let me go so I can grow as a person. Come on Al, just let me show you..."

"Look, you promised us that you would stay by our side no matter what happened. Do you really want to be stuck in some frozen wasteland for years to come? No, no, no you're not going and that's that." he said as he turned his back to her before he began walking away.

It hurt, deep inside her chest what he said really hurt her. It was almost as if he didn't believe in her. All she wanted was to become stronger not just for him but for everyone else in the city. Even though had been over a year she was still the weakest out of all of them and she didn't want to hold any of them back. If it took her to a frozen tundra to train up then that was the way it was going to have to be.

"Fine, but I'll find a way. I thought we were suppose to support each other isn't that right partner?!"

For a second though he felt something strange in his chest as he reached for it. He didn't want to do it but it had to be done. For the rest of the night they spoke not a word to each other as they both went their separate ways.


	7. Chapter 7 The Invasion

Chapter 7

The Invasion

Who did he think he was telling her she could go? What was his deal with letting her go off with his uncle? It wasn't like she was gonna be in much danger with his uncle around to protect her and heck once finished maybe they would of become a much stronger team. The possibilities were endless, but thanks to his stubbornness she was stuck in the same city just as she had been since she was born. Whatever, it was a fresh, new day and no matter what she wasn't going to let his stubborn attitude ruin it for her, although it seemed he was already getting to her as both she and Ela sat down for some breakfast at the festival grounds.

"Whoa easy there, what did that burrito ever do to you?" she asked as she took a bite of her along with a sip from her cup of blood.

"Huh?" she responded as she saw her breakfast oozing from between her fingers.

"Alright spill it. What happened." she demanded.

"Nothing, we just had a bit of a disagreement last night." she replied in a softer tone.

"Who, you and my brother? Wait, what did he do?"

"Um, remember when I asked you about your uncle?"

"Yeah, didn't you ask him?"

But the moment she looked into her eyes she could see exactly what the deal was.

"That sack of crap, he said no?"

All she did to reply was nod.

"Well then maybe I should have a little chat with him. Don't you worry we'll get you there." she said as she finished off her breakfast and jumped up.

Little did Al know that a new threat was approaching in the form of his sister as both he and Kuruma were both busy putting up a wooden sign to draw people to the platform where the musicians would be playing that morning while Kat helped them position it.

"Alright just a little more to the right." she said as she guides them towards the right area.

"Oof careful, if we drop this we are dead meat." Kuruma said as they both inched over on the platform below them.

"Crushed skulls, blood everywhere, sounds like a great way to start the morning." he replied as they both had a nice chuckle before raising the sign up.

But just when things were getting there Al felt someone kick his feet out from under him as he fell to his butt, the sign soon following to smack the top of his skull. Luckily it wasn't a magical sign or else that would have hurt a lot more. As he rubbed his head though he saw his younger sister standing before him with her "I'm pissed at you, now you die" face on.

"Geez, you couldn't have gotten my attention some other way?" he asked as he jumped to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah, did you reject her last night?" she asked straight out.

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb, Julie. Did you deny her the opportunity to train?"

"Oh that, well yeah. Let's face it she would never make it with our uncle."

"Oh don't give me that crap, you know damn well she could get better. You just don't want her to go because she may out rank you when she returns."

"Oh ho, yeah right. At her skill level she wouldn't even cut it. I bet that she wouldn't last a single week at his house. She's not ready and that's that." he said as he moved her aside.

How could he say such things about her? Not being up there? Not strong enough? She was his partner, but now he was treating her more like an outcast and he was the bully. Their conversation didn't stay private for long as he moved her out of the way. Before him stood his partner, his friend who had a few tears running down her face.

"Is that really how you see me? A weakling in this team?" she asked as she bit her bottom lip.

As much as he wanted to respond all he could do was bite his tongue as she made her way over.

"Well is that how you see me or not? Am I even your friend? Speak up damn it!" she exclaimed with great sadness as she delivered a solid punch to his right cheek.

Still no words came from him as he stood up and began walking away. All eyes were on him after their little argument went public as he reached down to grab his chest.

"Dang dude, that was a bit harsh don't you think?" asked Kuruma as he jumped down from the stage.

"It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done." was all he said as he jumped to the stage and grabbed the microphone from its stand.

As his eyes scanned the crowds though he noticed that Julie had run of.

"It's for the best." he thought as he cleared his throat.

It was almost a pain for for a smile across his face but once he did he spun the mic around before he grabbed it and raised it to his face.

"Alright everyone are you ready for a show?!"

It hurt to do that to his best friend, but it had to be done no matter what. With his announcement though everything started off pretty well as the band walked on stage with their instruments, but their soon turned to fear as a giant shadow swallowed up their city.

"Whoa, what in the hell?" Kuruma questioned as both he and Kat stepped back.

With a simple look up Al saw something he had never seen before, a floating platform had begun its envelopment of the city. The sun had been completely blacked out as it halted just over the festival. He had a bad feeling about it, all of them did and their feelings were proven right as a single figure jumped straight down to the front of the crowd.

"You!" Alucard exclaimed as he reached for his blade.

"Awe you remembered me, I'm touched." the man said as he grabbed the microphone from him.

It was him, the guy from yesterday that tried to ruin the festival for everyone and this time it looked like he meant business.

"Humans, monsters, today is a great day indeed not just for me but for all of us. For today a select few will join me in rebuilding this world. I hope you will all agree." he told them all as a sinister smirk spread across his face.

"Great just what we needed." thought Al as he reached into his pocket to grab his blade.

Followed by his tiny speech the sounds of metal doors opening filled the air as everyone looked up at the giant floating platform above. It was hard to make out but from the look of it mechanical doors were opening up all across the bottom.

"The new beginning starts now..." he murmured as he snapped his fingers.

Their fears had come true as large spherical pods began flying down towards the surface below and one by one they pulled both humans and monsters into their empty space inside before flying back up above.

"Oh you son of a bitch!" Al exclaimed as he swung his blade forward.

But with a swing of his own the mysterious man blocked and pushed him back.

"You will not interfere again!" he exclaimed as he swung his own sword only for Al to dodge.

And in a blink of an eye they were both locked in combat as the hero of the city began executing his little plan. First, get him out of the city limits then give him a good dose of whoop ass. Although it didn't seem that was going to be as simple as he though as they both kicked off the ground and began flying through the city.

"Al!" Kuruma called out as he took off his jacket.

"Where do you think you're going?" his wife asked.

"To help him, duh."

But just as he was getting ready to transform another fell from the platform above, a giant ogre. His yellow eyes narrowed in on him as the slob moved towards him.

"You'll be helping no one." he said as he took out a club.

"Right, and you're going to stop me?" Kuruma asked as his form began to change.

As he grew larger and larger Kat stepped back as she pulled out her twin pistols loaded with magic charged shots. He must had doubled in height, from 6'3 he grew to a giant 8'9 as fur spouted all over his body. His face distorted until it resembled that of a feral wolf as his fingernails turned into razor sharp claws. Luckily his clothes had been made by the local enchantress in his town so they grew with him. With his maw wide open he let out a howl that shook the air around them as his wife pulled out her twin pistols loaded with enchanted rounds.

"Werewolf, interesting." the beast stated as he swung his club.

Meanwhile further downtown both Locke and Melina were both escorting their fellow citizens to the large underground bunker where they would be safe and sound while they took care of the situation.

"Great, just great." Locke said as he saw even more monstrous creature falling from the unknown platform.

"Oh for gods sake." Milena said as she tried to hurry the people into the bunker.

Well he was a fighter and if he could buy them a bit of time he would.

"Hey Milena, keep them safe. I'll take care of this." he said in a proud voice as he pulled out a small metal rod from his pocket.

"Alright but you better come back in one piece." she said as she used her magic to expand the opening.

There was always that risk, but even so he couldn't let them reach the others. With his goggles pulled over his eyes he launched into battle as he pushed the small red button at the end of his staff. From it came two sharp, curved blades that each delivered a powerful strike to his opponents. Slice by slice he cut the limbs off his the enemy as his slim body whipped around their own. He may not had been as fast as Alucard or Kuruma but he was a slippery little fella. Even when he was grabbed by one of the large beasts he simply detached his leg and, with one good slice, cut it in two.

"Ah well that works too." he said to himself as he reattached his leg.

It wasn't over yet, not by a long shot as his eyes scanned the area. There were plenty of others just arriving and by the looks of it all Vlad and his team had their hands full with a bunch of the scum. With the last few people entering the bunker it was now safe to go wild, but then he heard a familiar voice cry out for help.

"Mrs. Hopper?" he questioned as he ran to his right where he heard the yells.

It was indeed her as both she and Travis were being cornered by a group of the twin headed creatures. Well, he still had some fight left in him as he jumped on the back of one. Using not his staff but his bare hands he tore the two heads loose and threw them at their partners. He then proceeded to slice off their noggins while they were dazed.

"Thank you, thank you." she said as he landed back on the ground.

"No prob, now lets get you two to the bunk~" but then he felt one of the metal orbs smack the back of his head.

Luckily he kept his head as he was sent backwards, but as he came to a stop he heard the screams of the horrified mother.

"Travis!" he heard as he got to his feet.

From up above one of the many orbs had managed to snatch up him up and was set of taking him back. A kid he was charged with looking after was now gone, but not if he had anything to say about it.

"Melina!" he shouted with a signal to launch him.

"Right!"

And with a whip of her staff and the wind behind it he was sent flying as he headed straight towards the spherical prison. Time after time he kept him in the air as he reached out to grab the crease where the contraption opened up.

"Come on, I got you now." he groaned as he reached out.

But just as his fingers touched the metal surface another goon came crashing down as they both plummeted to the ground below.

"I failed..." he groaned as he looked up at the eye eyed beast above him.

If it hadn't gotten to him he could have saved him, but because of its action he was lost. Anger overpowered him as he grabbed his staff from his back and with one good toss sent it right through its chest and watched as it tore out its heart. Using its body he softened the blow but that mattered not as he heard the mother crying as the battle raged on all over the city.


	8. Chapter 8 Fallen from Grace

Chapter 8

Fallen from Grace

How many of them were there? They were like ants all over a dead carcase and no matter how many they killed more would just take their place. Was he mass producing monsters or was his army just that big? Near the west district, out of the festival grounds and near the schools and shopping centers, Vlad and his men continued to fight a good fight and thanks to the floating fortress above them he didn't have to worry about the sun at all. While he tore the enemy to pieces both Frank and Officer Fletcher were both holding back the enemy as their men led more and more people into the second bunker behind them.

"Hey Frank got any more ammo to spare?" asked Fletcher as his clip ran out.

"Gotcha covered." he replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out six more fully loaded clips and tossed them to his partner.

Ever since the events of last year every officer was assigned a gun loaded with enchanted bullets, just to be on the safe side, but that wasn't all they were given. As Fletcher slipped in another round though one of the decaying beasts slipped by Frank's rang of fire and with a thrust of its arm it shoved its hand right into his chest.

"Huh, what's this?" it hisses as its eyes glowed red.

Upon contact he felt something pretty strange under the uniform of the human officer, something smooth and hard. As he looked up though the barrel of the officer's pistol was there to greet him.

"Take your hands off of me..." he hissed back as he pulled the trigger.

Point blank, in the face and with that its blood stained the ground as he stood proudly in his victory. He couldn't believe that he had to waste of bullet on someone like him though.

"Heh I see that armor is holding up rather well." said Frank as he crushed one of their skulls under his massive left foot.

"Yeah, I guess it isn't that useless." he teased as they both got back to work.

The Enchanted Vest, created by Melina it's qualities were like that of a barrier. If anything attacked him that had a magical presence the vest under his uniform would repel it and it was still pretty useful for gang shootouts as well. Still they just kept on coming and it didn't look as if they were going to stop any time soon, but that was the least of their worries.

For up above the city skyline the two titans continued to fight in out in an effort to determine would would rein supreme. It wasn't easy though, the man was quite strong but thanks to the abstraction of the sun Alucard was also just as powerful. Both were about evenly matched as Al tried to lure him towards the outer city limits, but he seemed set on staying inside as they flew around and from time to time clashed with their blades. Whatever power he had though was unlike anything he had ever seen from a fellow monster.

"You're good, but I'm better!" he exclaimed as they clashed swords once more.

Sparks erupted between their blades as they clashed once more, but just like before they were sent backwards as both glared at each other.

"You will not interfere again vampire. I'll not let my years of work go to waste because of you!" he exclaimed as he raised his hand towards him.

Oh he knew what was coming as he raised his hand as well. Once aimed both let loose a powerful blast of their own energy, but instead of hitting each other a large black cloud of smoke separated them both. It was impossible to see each other as the mysterious man tried to look through the smoke.

"Gah where are you pire?!" he asked as he sent out three more blasts through the smoke.

Where was he? The smoke only covered so much area and if he was using it as cover then he should have hit him but no. As he crept closer though he was greeted with a nice punch to the face as the brave vampire continued to punch him over and over as they both approached the ground.

"Bring forth the pain sir!" he demanded as he infused his next punch with his dark energy for the final blow.

With his final strike he would end the invasion and those who were taken he would search high and low for in that floating fortress. By the look of it his enemy wasn't up for fighting anymore as he swung his fist to finish him off, but instead once he landed his attack he disappeared in a cloud of particles.

"What in the heck? Substitution?" he wondered.

As he kept himself in the air though he made himself vulnerable to his enemy as he looked back. Suddenly he found his head being squeezed as he was pushed against of the buildings.

"Ugh, you dumba~" but as soon as he began to talk his enemy began to destroy him as blasts of invisible energy bombarded his body.

Blood began dripping from his mouth and nose as he looked up at his foe, that sickening grin just made him even angrier as he struggled to get free.

"Come now don't be like this. We can still have so much fun together!" his enemy told him as he bashed his head up against the bricks of the building.

Was he draining his energy? It sure felt like it as his body went limp for a few seconds. It almost felt as if he was draining his energy to replenish his own after the massive beating he took. His arms, legs, and even his head, he couldn't move them as he raised his eyes towards his foe who was readying his final attack. As his eyes closed he waited for the inevitable before he heard the voice of Kuruma.

"Hey there pally, can you let go on my friend?" he heard as his eyes looked over to his left.

In a blink of an eye his enemy was taken down by the large wolf as Kuruma rode him all the way down to the ground. Once he was free though he could feel his energy returning as he landed safely on the ground below. As he wiped the blood from his mouth though he saw his friend trying to fend off his opponent.

"Heh you're not bad for a wolf." he said as he blocked his punches.

"Oh yeah? Well thank you, but I have to kick your ass now." he replied a sincere tone as he increased the power in his punches.

It may not had been a full moon but even so werewolves were not a force to mess with. With every punch the ground below them cracked and thing only got more hectic when Al decided to join in the fray. Now he had two opponents to deal with as they both delivered their most powerful punches. Even while he was blocking he could still feel the power they held.

"That's enough!" he yelled.

Suddenly they found themselves on the ground as a powerful shock-wave knocked both of them to the ground. Their heads to pulse as he walked past them.

"Whoa that was pretty wicked, but still we can't let him escape." said Kuruma as both he and Al attempted to rise back up.

As they stumbled to their feet though they heard something whistling through the air as their knees shook beneath them. Upon taking a few steps forward their foe found a large black scythe embedded in the ground before him.

"Hey you get away from my friends!" he heard before he was kicked right on the left side of his face that sent him into the nearby bank.

"Ugh, what power. Who is this?" he thought to himself as he looked up.

Upon jumping to his feet though he saw a girl dressed in a lovely dark purple outfit with her eyes glowing with passion and fury. She was pissed as he moved forward with her attack but swinging her scythe. Luckily though he had his own weapon as he blocked and pushed her back out of the building.

"Amazing, this power I feel flowing through you. Who are you malady?"

"Ugh Julie get the hell out of here, now!" Alucard demanded as he reached for his own weapon.

There was no reply, she didn't need one as she saw him approach her. She was already pissed off enough as it was and she didn't need him to come to her rescue.

"I'll show you, I'll take him down in no time. Just you wait!" she thought as they both clashed again.

Her anger and fury knew no bounds as she used her matter to try and take that sword from him. With each strike he tried against her she blocked and countered them all.

"Ooo your reflexes are impressive. You'll make a nice edition to my kingdom." he said as he advanced.

"No way, just back off!" she demanded as she let loose her signature swing to juggle him.

But upon swinging her weapon he simply stepped to the side and with a crushing bow punched her right in the stomach. Everything went blurry as she fell to the ground, the voices of her friends were muffled as she began blacking out.

"Julie!" yelled Alucard with great anger as he tried to move forward.

All he could do though was watch as he caught her in his arms.

"There's no need to worry pire, she'll be in safe hands from now on." he said as he moved her under his arm.

No, he could lose her just like that, he had to move! As he gritted his teeth he used all the power in his legs to break into a run. It almost hurt to run but he just couldn't let her get taken like that. His eyes followed the invader though as he kicked off the ground. Well if he wanted to take it into the sky then so was he. With his own wings sprouted he too kicked off the ground as he flew as fast as he could towards her.

"Let her go!"

Just then her eyes began to open as she heard his voice getting closer and closer. Her vision was still a bit blurred but it was clearly him as he reached out to grab her.

"Julie!"

That's when everything took a turn for the worst. As soon as he came within rang the invader turned and with a thrust of his blade sent it straight through his chest.

"Huh?" he thought as he ran his hand down his chest.

"Alucard?" she asked as her eyes widened with worry.

"Blood, my blood?" was all he could think as he fell off the blade and towards the ground.

"Alucard! No!" she screamed as he fell towards the road below.

It hurt, like his heart was about to explode. The last thing he saw was his friend being taken as she let out a scream of sadness before everything around him faded away. He had failed in his mission, no not his mission. He had failed in himself.


	9. Chapter 9 Sadness of a Hero

Chapter

The Sadness of a Hero

What had happened to him? One moment he was on top of the world and rising then the next he found himself at the end of his enemy's blade as his friend was taken away from him. The stringing in his heart, it wasn't just from the final blow but from also his own ignorance. If he hadn't ticked her off then maybe she wouldn't have taken on the enemy herself, but thanks to him she was gone. It was all kind of a blur though as he opened his eyes. Above him a bright light shined down upon him as he looked around.

"He's awoken." he heard as he tried to sit up.

Even though his vision was a bit blurry he could still make out all those who surrounded him. His friends and family were all there to see through his recover. It wasn't just his chest that hurt though his head was pounding like something fierce as he rubbed his eyes.

"Here drink this." his father said as he gave him a small cup of blood.

"Ugh, why do I feel like crap?" he asked as he guzzled down the fluid.

"Well that's what happens when you act so brash. You're lucky though, the blade missed your heart by an inch. Any closer and you probably wouldn't be but a pile of ash right now." Frank said as he sat down.

"A sword through the chest? Wait what?" he asked as he coughed.

"You shouldn't move around too much. Let the blood do its work." said Melina as she removed the healing barrier from his chest.

It was still a bit fuzzy, but the chunks that he could remember he would have rather not. Being beaten by that punk, it was almost the worst of feelings. As the fresh blood ran through his body though the wound created by the enemy began to fade as his strength returned to him. Once his eyes focused though he noticed that someone was missing.

"Wait where is she?" he asked straight out.

At that very moment he knew something wasn't right. What had he forgotten while he was out?

"Bro, she, you know." Kuruma said as he pointed up.

"She was one of the taken." Rorik said straight out as he leaned against the wall.

That's when it hit him like a ton of bricks. The invasion, the fight, the moment he tried to save her but ultimately fail to do so, it was all coming back to him as he struggled to stand up.

"I...failed?" he asked.

"No, you managed to fend off the enemy, but in the end you still couldn't protect my daughter now could you?" Rorik asked as he approached him.

"Alright Rorik step down now." Vlad demanded.

"You had one simple job and that was to keep my daughter safe from harm, but you couldn't even do that. Now she's gone god knows where." he hissed as he grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Alright that's enough, he didn't mean for him to get away." Kat sat as she pulled his hands from Al's collar.

The air was thick with tension as the mage went at him with words of hatred, but no matter what he said his head never lifted. From the shadows though his sister could tell that he wasn't himself. Those eyes, the eyes of a dead man were all she saw as he landed on his feet. They were so dull and plain, it was as if his soul had been sucked from his very body.

"Relax, we'll find her no matter what. Right son?"

Instead of answering his father's question though he instead moved towards the door with jacket in hand.

"No, he's right, it's my fault that she's gone. I'll just have to, get over it I guess." he replied in a dull tone.

Not another word was spoken as he walked out of his own house. Dead Alucard, that wasn't a pretty sight for anyone to see. No emotion had escaped his voice once he left the house in shame, but what could they do?

"Damn, you roughed him up pretty badly." Kuruma told Rorik as they listen to him leave.

"But he..."

"He tried to save your daughter, he fought to protect the city, he tried his hardest." followed Kat.

Was it true? Had he killed his spirit? How else was he suppose to react though?

"You know I don't think it was his fault." followed Ela.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Melina.

"You guys have to remember that those two have been fighting together for a long time now and as her partner it was his duty to protect her. After he failed to do so maybe his mind just collapsed. You know kind of like when you're really depressed and you lose all sense of emotions, kind of like a zombie."

What were the chances that what she said was true, there was still a strong possibility that he could have caused his depression; there was still a chance she was right however. Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Hm, where are you going?" Vlad asked as he saw his friend open the door.

"I'm going to go talk to him. I'll be back a little later though to help with the lean up." he promised as he headed out the door.

Even though he didn't really appreciate the way the young vampire acted around his daughter sometimes, he was still his best friend's son and to see him so lifeless was just terrible. The clouds were looking a bit dark though which didn't spell out good things for Al. There was no time to waste he had to find him and find out what was really going on.

Meanwhile in the lowly destroyed city the young vampire walked, his held and pride held low as he tried to hide how he was really feeling from the rest. He paid no attention to the people on the side of the street as his eyes were dead set on what was right in front of him. How else was he to feel though? He wanted to get over it, he didn't want to be a downer but it was a fact; because of him one of the ones he held so dear was gone. Sure they may find her but how would he face her? It was so unlike him to feel so terrible, but something different had hit him deep inside.

Instead of heading the arcade or helping with the reconstruction of what little of the city was destroyed he just continued to walk along the middle of the street as cars drove by. The wind was picking up a bit as he placed his hands in his pockets to keep a bit more warm. It was obvious that people recognized him, but after what happened he couldn't even look back at them. As he passed by the hospital though he heard a friendly voice.

"Hey Alucard, care to help out a bit?!" asked Fletcher as his men helped the injured into the medical facility.

But instead of answering he simply walked by with his head held even lower as he was greeted by the others.

"What's with him?" asked one of his fellow officers.

"No clue, but he always comes around. Now then let's pick up the pace men." he ordered.

If there was one thing he needed it was a quiet place so he could think. After all that happened he just needed to be alone for a while and he knew just the place. As he continued down the street though a loud clap of thunder echoed through the air as drops of rain began pouring down.

"Perfect..." he groaned as his muscles began to stiffen.

Even so there was no way some rain was going to stop him from his objective as he made his way towards the clock tower near the center of the city. There he could finally have a bit of peace and quiet while he tried to gather his thoughts. As he entered the elevator to head on up though he saw the blonde mage himself as he tried to get to him before the doors closed.

"Come on, come on..." he begged as he mashed the up button while a bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

Once he saw that elevator door close though old Rorik hatched his own plan. With his knees bent he concentrated on the area between his feet and the ground before he gave a good kick. With the ground shaking below him he took to the sky above in one big jump as he flew higher and higher. Oh he knew where he was going; so using the wind he pushed himself towards the balcony that allowed those who stood upon it to overlook the city. With his feet planted on the stone surface of the railing he waited as the doors began to open up.

"Alright, now why don't we~"

But as soon as the doors open the young vampire fell face first onto the floor. With a tap of his staff though he knew he was alright; his body had just stiffened up from the rain water that covered his body. That wasn't a problem though as he raised his hand up. In just a few seconds Al found himself completely dry as Rorik pulled the water straight from the surface of his body and clothes. Once dry Al was able to move his arms and legs with ease.

"Oh good, you're awake. Now to dispose of this." said Rorik as he threw the ball of water towards the sea.

"Ugh what are you doing here? Come to snap at me some more? I already admitted it was my fault so why don't you leave well enough alone."

That was one of the things he didn't like about Alucard, he always assumed things. This time though he wouldn't shout and point his finger at him for what happened. It was at times like this though that he wished his wife was still alive to help out, but he was on his own.

"Yeah I may had gone a bit overboard blaming you for what happened. Look I know you meant to protect my daughter and I know that you would do anything to get her back, but you can't be like this. When my wife died I was a wreck for quite a while, but I learned that you have to move on. We'll find her and the others." he said as he rubbed his back.

But as he spoke he noticed that his grip was only growing tighter along the railing; to a point where it began to chip and crack.

"No, it was my fault. Don't you see? Didn't she tell you?" he asked as he tried to choke back his tears.

"Tell me what exactly?"

And with a gulp he explained what happened.

"I wouldn't let her train at with my uncle and when I told her she wouldn't be strong enough to handle it. I could see it in her eyes; she wanted to prove that she was strong enough to go on with it. It's because of me that she got involved, it's because of me that she got captured. I tried to save her but I couldn't even do that."

Now everything was coming together for him. Like a puzzle he managed to piece it all together with his help. Still it did seem like it was his fault for the most part, but a piece was still missing. There had to had been a reason why he didn't trust her.

"You know you're probably the only one who has actually managed to bring her pure joy in her life."

"Huh?"

"Yeah it's the truth. Every day she would come home and tell me all about her day and how much fun she had hanging out with you."

"Really, how do I know you're not just making this up?"

"You don't but you have to trust me. You're something special to her. What she sees in you I'll never know but you've made her very happy."

"OK you can't just burn me like that man; besides I'm suppose to be the hero but I wasn't even strong enough to save my buddy."

"Don't worry about that; wherever she is we'll find her and that I can promise you. Now either you can stand her and mope or you can come and help us." he said as he entered the elevator to leave.

As he looked out over the city his mind began to untangle, but he would need some time before he made up mind.


End file.
